That’s the question, isn’t it? And 350.org‘s founder and resident philosopher, Bill McKibben, has an answer for you in his latest article: http://www.resilience.org/
Sorry to say, the lifestyle adjustments are not going to get us there in time. “Movements are how people organize themselves to gain power—enough power, in this case, to perhaps overcome the financial might of the fossil fuel industry,” McKibben writes.
You are Montana’s climate change movement. Thank you. Here are some upcoming things you can do:
April 11, 7 p.m., in the University Theater (UC) at the University of Montana the Montana Institute on Ecosystems in welcoming Stanford University’s Peter Vitousek, a professor of Earth Science Systems for a talk, “Understanding ‘Global’ Change and a Transition to Sustainability.”
April 17, 5:30 p.m., 350 Montana’s Action Committee meets at Watershed Consulting, 1301 Scott Street. From Scott Street — go over the Scott Street Bridge heading north and take the first left into the Zip Beverage complex. Go left, travel alongside the zip building to the log yard and park. From Orange Street — off the I-90 Orange Street exit, take the frontage road west. Stay on 5th Street and it changes to Stoddard, and keep going underneath the Scott Street Bridge to the mill yard.
April 24, 6 to 9:30 p.m. at the University Theater, Research Ecologist Paul Hessburg presents “The Era of Megafires, a 70 minute, multi-media event that tells the ecological and social story of our forests, our communities, and the relationship between them in the context of megafires – wildfires over 100,000 acres. Seating is limited. You must go here to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/
April 28, 6 to 10:30 p.m., “Gettin’ Down to Earth,” a Dinner Dance at UCC, 405 University Avenue, to benefit youth scholarships, 350 Montana, and Faith and Climate Action. Featuring music by the Full Grown Band, this is a chance to have some fun and support some pretty darn good folks.
April 29, two Montana marches are part of the largest global climate mobilization in history. Millions of people will gather in Washington, D.C., and throughout the world to show the strength of the climate movement. Missoula’s march gets underway at 1 p.m. at the north end of the Higgins Bridge and goes to the XXXs at the end of North Higgins where there will be speakers and displays. Glacier Climate Action, meanwhile, is meeting at Lake McDonald Lodge in Glacier National Park at 11:30 a.m. for the People’s Climate Rally. Following the rally, participants may wish to walk or bicycle on the Going to the Sun Road to celebrate spring in the park.
May 7, 4 to 6 p.m. at the Bozeman Public Library, Leonard Higgins is presenting a talk, “It’s Time for Ordinary People to Do Extraordinary Things!” On October 11, 2016, Leonard and four other brave climate activists closed safety valves on five pipelines carrying tar sands crude oil into the United States. Leonard cut the lock on a valve enclosure on Spectra Energy’s Express Pipeline near Coal Banks Landing, Montana, and faces felony charges and a decade in prison. Leonard says it was the right thing to do, because the consequences of inaction and climate cataclysm far and away outweigh the personal consequences.
May 13, 5 to 9 to 5 p.m. at Dave Harmon’s horse ranch, 3500 Duncan Drive, 350 Montana is sponsoring a fundraiser for Leonard Higgins and the “valve turners,” featuring a live band, a barbecue, and some great speakers and conversations about where the local climate movement is going.
May 20, time and place TBA, Leonard Higgins speaks in Whitefish sponsored by Glacier Climate Action.
More details will be coming about a similar talk in Helena, date and time TBA.
Thanks for being part of the Montana climate movement.
Jeff Smith, co-chair, 350 Montana